Article storage and retrieval apparatus and control method for article storage and retrieval

Abstract

The present invention provides an article storage and retrieval apparatus and a control method for article storage and retrieval. The article storage and retrieval apparatus comprises an article storage mechanism, a grabbing mechanism, a motion mechanism, an image collection mechanism, and a controller; the article storage mechanism comprises a rack and a plurality of storage units distributed in an up-down direction; each storage unit comprises a support unit, a storage rotation unit, and a motor, and the storage rotation unit is provided with a plurality of placement portions for placing articles; the storage rotation units of the storage units are distributed in an up-down direction; and the plurality of storage rotation units are each provided with a notch, the notch extends from the periphery of the storage rotation unit to the inner side, and the dimension of the notch allows the grabbing mechanism to pass during movement, thereby facilitating grabbing of articles on the adjacent storage rotation unit corresponding to the notch. In the present invention, the article storage mechanism works in conjunction with the image collection mechanism, thereby realizing disorderly storage and retrieval of articles, and enabling grabbing of articles on the inner sides of the storage rotation units, thus fully utilizing the storage position; and additionally, the storage capacity can be expanded without increasing the occupied area.

Description

Article access device and control method of article access thereof TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of vending machines, and more particularly, to an article access device and a control method of article access thereof. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the rapid development of the commodity vending market, the demand of consumers for product diversification is increasing. However, the existing vending machines sell a small variety of products, and usually can sell more than 10 products at most, which is difficult to meet the diversified demand. The main reasons for the small variety of products are: 1. The storage space of the vending machine is limited and not easy to expand; 2. In order to manage and replenish products, and accurately take out the products needed by customers, reduce the error rate of taking goods, a certain storage space needs to be reserved for each product category in the limited storage space of the vending machine, and the storage spaces of various categories of products are independent of each other, so that some storage spaces cannot be effectively utilized. In addition, some existing vending machines can only simply increase the size of the vending machine to divide more types of storage space in order to provide more types of products, and some need to increase the corresponding delivery channel for the storage space, which will increase the floor area of the vending machine, and put higher requirements on the place where the vending machine is placed, and also increase the operating cost, which is not conducive to the popularization and use of the vending machine.

[0003] SUMMARY

[0004] The present application is to overcome the problems existing in the prior art, improve the internal access mechanism of the vending machine, and provide an article access device which can realize disordered access of articles, store more articles of different specifications and types, and has high storage space utilization rate. The article access device can be easily expanded upward to increase the storage capacity of products without increasing the floor area.

[0005] Another object of the present application is to provide a management method of article storage.

[0006] Another object of the present application is to provide a control method of article grabbing.

[0007] Another object of the present application is to provide a control method of article access.

[0008] To solve the above technical problems, the technical solution adopted by the present application is:

[0009] An article access device comprises an article storage mechanism, a grabbing mechanism, a movement mechanism for driving the grabbing mechanism to move to the article storage mechanism, an image collection mechanism for collecting article image information, and a controller; the controller is electrically connected or wirelessly connected with the grabbing mechanism, the movement mechanism, the image collection mechanism, and the article storage mechanism respectively;

[0010] The article storage mechanism comprises a support, and a plurality of storage units distributed vertically; each of the storage units comprises a support unit, a storage rotating unit, and a motor for driving the storage rotating unit to rotate; at least a part of the support unit is connected with the support to fix the support unit; the support unit is used for supporting the motor and / or the storage rotating unit; the storage rotating unit is provided with a plurality of placing parts for placing articles;

[0011] The storage rotating units of the storage units are distributed vertically, and the axial lines of the storage rotating units are in the same direction; the storage rotating units are provided with notches extending from the periphery of the storage rotating units to the inside; the notches are sized to allow the grabbing mechanism to pass through when moving, and facilitate grabbing of the articles on the adjacent storage rotating unit corresponding to the notches.

[0012] The article access device of the application is characterized in that the structure and composition of the article storage mechanism are ingeniously designed, and the image collection mechanism is used, so that the position information of the articles does not need to be manually input in advance, and the articles can be stored in disorder and accurately grabbed.

[0013] Specifically, when the article access device is used to store or supplement articles, the articles of the same kind do not need to be placed together; when the articles are stored, the image collection mechanism is used to collect the information of the articles and feed back to the controller, and the database of the controller records the information of the storage rotating units where different articles are located; when the articles need to be grabbed, the controller controls the grabbing mechanism to move to the storage rotating unit where the target article is located, and controls the storage rotating unit to rotate, so that the target article is rotated to be close to the grabbing mechanism, and then the grabbing mechanism grabs the target article.

[0014] When the grabbed article is located at the inner side of the storage rotating unit, the controller controls the adjacent storage rotating unit of the storage rotating unit where the target article is located to rotate, so that the gap of the adjacent storage rotating unit is turned to the position corresponding to the grabbing mechanism, the grabbing mechanism is moved to the gap, and at the same time, the storage rotating unit where the target article is located is controlled to rotate, so that the target article is turned to be located below or above the grabbing mechanism, and then the grabbing mechanism grabs the target article. In this way, the grabbing of the article located at the inner side of the storage rotating unit is realized, and the realization of this function can effectively utilize the space of the rotating disc and improve the utilization rate of the storage space. Especially for the storage rotating unit with a larger area, when a plurality of groups of placing parts are arranged from the periphery to the inner side, the improvement of the utilization rate of the storage space is more obvious.

[0015] Since the disordered storage of articles can be realized, the articles can be placed at the placing part of the storage rotating unit at will, the problem that a certain storage position needs to be reserved for each article type is overcome, the storage position is fully utilized, the utilization rate is improved, the type of the article can be dynamically and greatly increased according to the actual situation, or the storage amount of a certain article can be greatly increased under the premise of reducing the type of the article or keeping the type unchanged.

[0016] In addition, each storage unit is independent of each other, and a certain storage unit can be temporarily suspended according to the actual situation, which is convenient for maintenance. Moreover, the storage units are arranged in an up-down distribution, and when it is necessary to expand the storage capacity of the article storage mechanism, the storage rotating unit only needs to be increased upwards, so that the storage capacity is increased without increasing the floor area.

[0017] When the height interval between each storage rotating unit is relatively close and the article grabbed by the grabbing mechanism is larger than the grabbing mechanism, the size of the gap can be further increased. Further, the size of the gap of the present application can be passed through when the grabbing mechanism, part of the movement mechanism connected with the grabbing mechanism and the article grabbed by the grabbing mechanism move.

[0018] The number of the storage rotating units provided with the gap in the present application is multiple, and all the storage rotating units can be provided with the gap, or when the article is placed on the upper surface of the storage rotating unit, the other storage rotating units above the lowermost storage rotating unit are provided with the gap; when the article is placed on the lower surface of the storage rotating unit, the other storage rotating units below the uppermost storage rotating unit are provided with the gap. When the gaps of each storage rotating unit are turned to the same direction as each storage rotating unit rotates, the gaps of all the storage rotating units form a channel for the grabbing mechanism to move up and down.

[0019] The movement mechanism in the present application can be one of a six-axis mechanical arm, a three-axis mechanical arm, a two-axis mechanical arm and a linear drive mechanical arm.

[0020] Preferably, the motion mechanism of the present application is a two-axis mechanical arm. The present application provides a passageway for the grabbing mechanism to pass through by setting the notch on the storage rotating unit, which makes it possible to use a two-axis mechanical arm, and the two-axis mechanical arm can realize efficient and stable grabbing of the articles without using a three-axis mechanical arm. Meanwhile, using a two-axis mechanical arm can save more space.

[0021] The two-axis mechanical arm provides two degrees of freedom of motion in the up-down and left-right directions. Further, the two-axis mechanical arm comprises a Z-axis moving assembly, an X-axis or Y-axis moving assembly arranged on the Z-axis moving assembly, and the grabbing mechanism is arranged on the X-axis or Y-axis moving assembly, so that the grabbing mechanism can move to the storage rotating unit in the Z-axis direction and the X-axis or Y-axis direction.

[0022] The present application defines the moving direction of the Z-axis moving assembly and the X-axis or Y-axis moving assembly by three-dimensional space coordinate axes. The Z-axis direction refers to moving in the up-down direction, which corresponds to the storage rotating units distributed in the up-down direction, so that the grabbing mechanism can move to the uppermost and lowermost storage rotating units. The X-axis or Y-axis direction refers to moving in the lateral direction, so that the grabbing mechanism can move to the inner side of the storage rotating unit.

[0023] For the installation position of the two-axis mechanical arm of the present application, a support or base can be additionally provided, and the Z-axis moving assembly is installed on the support or base, or directly installed on the support of the article storage mechanism. The Z-axis moving assembly is arranged beside each storage unit.

[0024] The Z-axis moving assembly comprises a base, a Z-axis lead screw arranged on the base, a Z-axis sliding seat arranged on the Z-axis lead screw, and a Z-axis lead screw motor for driving the Z-axis lead screw to move the Z-axis sliding seat. The base can be independently arranged or arranged on the support.

[0025] The X-axis or Y-axis moving assembly comprises an X-axis or Y-axis lead screw arranged on the Z-axis sliding seat, an X-axis or Y-axis sliding seat arranged on the X-axis or Y-axis lead screw, and an X-axis or Y-axis lead screw motor for driving the X-axis or Y-axis lead screw to move the X-axis or Y-axis sliding seat. In this case, the grabbing mechanism is arranged on the X-axis or Y-axis sliding seat.

[0026] The image acquisition mechanism of the present application can be installed on the support or the motion mechanism. Further, the image acquisition mechanism is arranged on the X-axis or Y-axis moving assembly. Still further, the image acquisition mechanism is arranged on the X-axis or Y-axis sliding seat.

[0027] The image acquisition mechanism is a sensor or a camera for acquiring the appearance of the article, a two-dimensional code or a bar code information. Preferably, the image acquisition mechanism is a camera for observing the situation at the article storage mechanism. The camera can not only acquire the image information of the article, but also observe the situation at the article storage mechanism, and is particularly suitable for monitoring the rotation of the storage rotating unit, such as the position of the rotation. The camera is electrically connected or wirelessly connected to the controller. Through the camera and the controller, an image recognition algorithm and a database stored and run by the controller can automatically identify the type of the article and record it into the database of the controller, so as to realize intelligent inventory management and product type identification. The manual intervention is reduced, and the operation efficiency and the management accuracy are improved. Preferably, the camera is a high-definition wide-angle camera.

[0028] The image acquisition mechanism is mounted on the grabbing mechanism or the moving mechanism. The image acquisition mechanism can follow the grabbing mechanism or the moving mechanism to move, and a single image acquisition mechanism can identify the entire article storage mechanism, so that the number of image acquisition mechanisms required to be set is reduced, and the success rate of grabbing is improved. When the image acquisition mechanism is a camera, the camera can overcome the problem of identifying the two-dimensional code / bar code of the article by a code scanner at a short distance, and does not need to set a two-dimensional code / bar code for each article to be stored in advance, and is particularly suitable for storing articles in disorder.

[0029] The article attribute information collected by the camera includes the shape and pattern color of the article, and further includes but is not limited to the name of the article, the name of the manufacturer, the size specification (capacity or weight).

[0030] The placing portions are distributed on the entire storage rotating unit. Specifically, the plurality of placing portions are distributed on the periphery and / or the inner side of the storage rotating unit. The inner side of the storage rotating unit refers to the part of the storage rotating unit close to the axis, and the outer side refers to the part of the storage rotating unit away from the axis.

[0031] The placing portion is one or more of a shelf, an opening or a groove provided on the storage rotating unit.

[0032] The placing portion includes but is not limited to a shelf, or an opening or a groove provided on the storage rotating unit. The article is placed on the shelf, or a part of the article is clamped in the opening or the groove.

[0033] The motor is provided on the support unit, the storage rotating unit is mounted on the motor, and the motor is connected to the axis position of the storage rotating unit to drive the rotation of the storage rotating unit.

[0034] The grabbing mechanism is a mechanical gripper, an electric suction cup or a combination of the two. As one of the embodiments, the grabbing mechanism is an electric suction cup, and the suction and release actions are realized through electric control. The suction cup shape of the electric suction cup is circular.

[0035] The controller is electrically connected with the grabbing mechanism, the moving mechanism, the image acquisition mechanism and the article storage mechanism to control the cooperative operation of the grabbing mechanism, the moving mechanism, the image acquisition mechanism and the article storage mechanism. Further, the controller is connected with the grabbing mechanism, the moving mechanism, the image acquisition mechanism and the article storage mechanism through wireless communication.

[0036] The controller can adopt a PLC controller. The controller includes a central processing unit and a storage module. The central processing unit is connected with the storage module. The storage module stores database program codes including but not limited to codes for recording article information, image recognition algorithm program codes and control program codes for controlling the actions of the grabbing mechanism, the moving mechanism, the image acquisition mechanism and the article storage mechanism. The central processing unit can control the operation of the article access device by running the program codes.

[0037] The controller can control the rotation of the storage rotating unit to align the notch with the direction of the grabbing mechanism. The image acquisition mechanism can be assisted in positioning in combination with image recognition. The image acquisition mechanism feeds back the collected information to the controller, and the controller determines whether the notch is rotated to the preset position through the recognition algorithm.

[0038] In order to better position the notch, further, the storage unit further includes a rotating position sensing unit for detecting the rotating position of the storage rotating unit. The rotating position sensing unit is electrically connected or wirelessly connected with the controller. The rotating position sensing unit can detect the rotating position of the storage rotating unit, for example, the rotating position of the notch, to more conveniently and accurately align the notch with the direction of the grabbing mechanism. As one of the embodiments, the rotating position sensing unit includes a rotating position sensor and at least one accessory adapted to the rotating position sensor. The rotating position sensor is electrically connected or wirelessly connected with the controller. The rotating position sensor is arranged on the support or the supporting unit, and the accessory is arranged on the storage rotating unit. One of the accessories is used to feed back that the notch is aligned with the direction of the grabbing mechanism. When the notch of the storage rotating unit is rotated to align with the direction of the grabbing mechanism, the rotating position sensor senses the accessory. The sensing includes but is not limited to electric sensing, optical sensing, magnetic sensing and mechanical sensing.

[0039] The shaft center lines of the storage rotating units are in the same direction and on the same line.

[0040] As one of the embodiments, the storage rotating unit is a rotating disc.

[0041] As one of the embodiments, the notch of the storage rotating unit is preferably a sector or a sector-like shape.

[0042] The shape and size of the support unit are not limited as long as they do not affect the grabbing mechanism to grab the articles. As one of the embodiments, the support unit is a support plate.

[0043] At least a part of the support unit is detachably connected to the support frame.

[0044] The support frame is modularized, and the support frame has a plurality of support frame modules that can be stacked on each other. Each support frame module is provided with a part for mounting the storage unit, so as to facilitate the upward addition of the storage unit and the expansion of the storage space.

[0045] When the article access device is in standby, as one of the setting modes, each storage rotating unit can be rotated to a direction in which all the notches face the grabbing mechanism, and the grabbing mechanism can be moved to the channel formed by the notches. When the article needs to be grabbed, the grabbing mechanism can be quickly moved to the target position.

[0046] The application further provides an article storage management method.

[0047] The article storage management method uses the article access device, and comprises the following steps: presetting the information of the articles in the controller, or connecting the controller to a cloud server on which the information of the articles is recorded; after the articles are stored in the storage rotating units, the controller controls the moving mechanism to drive the image acquisition mechanism to move to each of the storage rotating units in turn, the controller controls the rotation of the storage rotating units, the image acquisition mechanism identifies each of the observed articles and feeds back the information to the controller, and the controller records the information of the articles stored in each of the storage rotating units. When the image acquisition mechanism is a camera, the camera identifies each of the observed articles according to the preset information of the articles by using an image recognition algorithm and feeds back the information to the controller. In this way, when the articles are stored, they can be placed in the placing part of the rotating disc at will, and the storage is realized in disorder.

[0048] The application further provides an article grabbing control method.

[0049] The control method of the article grabbing, using the article storage device of the application, comprises the following steps: when it is needed to find and take out an article of a certain kind, the controller controls the moving mechanism to drive the image acquisition mechanism to move to each layer of the storage rotating unit in turn, the controller controls the storage rotating unit to rotate, the image acquisition mechanism identifies each article observed, when the target article is found, the controller stops the storage rotating unit from rotating, and controls the grabbing mechanism to move to grab the target article, after the target article is grabbed, the controller controls the grabbing mechanism to move to a designated position to put down the target article.

[0050] The application further provides a control method of article storage.

[0051] The control method of article storage, using the article storage device of the application, comprises the following steps:

[0052] Article storage: presetting the information of the article in the controller or connecting the controller to a cloud server recording the information of the article; after the article is stored in the storage rotating unit, the controller controls the moving mechanism to drive the camera to move to each layer of the storage rotating unit, the controller controls the storage rotating unit to rotate and the image acquisition mechanism to acquire image information, and the image information fed back by the image acquisition mechanism is identified by using an image recognition algorithm according to the preset article information in the database, and the information is fed back to the controller, and the controller records or updates the information of the article stored in each layer of the storage rotating unit;

[0053] Article grabbing: when it is needed to take out an article of a certain kind, the controller reads the information recorded before, if there is an article of the corresponding kind, finds the storage rotating unit where the target article is located, and the controller controls the moving mechanism to drive the grabbing mechanism to move to the storage rotating unit; when more than one storage rotating unit stores the target article, the storage rotating unit closest to the grabbing mechanism or the designated storage rotating unit according to the preset priority order can be selected; the controller controls the storage rotating unit to rotate and the moving mechanism to drive the grabbing mechanism to move to grab the target article, after the target article is grabbed, the controller controls the grabbing mechanism to move to a designated position to put down the target article.

[0054] Compared with the prior art, the application has the following beneficial effects:

[0055] 1、The article storage device of the application realizes the disordered storage of articles and the accurate grabbing of target articles without manually inputting the position information of the articles in advance by ingeniously designing the composition and structure of the article storage mechanism and adopting the image acquisition mechanism.

[0056] 2. By setting the gaps of the storage rotating units and the independent rotation of each storage rotating unit, the controller controls the gaps of each storage rotating unit to rotate to the position corresponding to the grabbing mechanism according to the movement of the grabbing mechanism, forming a moving channel for the grabbing mechanism to grab any item on the storage rotating unit including the periphery and the inside.

[0057] 3. The items can be placed in the placement part of the storage rotating unit at will, overcoming the problem of reserving a certain storage position for each item type, fully utilizing the storage position, improving the utilization rate, and dynamically increasing the types of items by a large margin according to the actual situation, or increasing the storage amount of a certain item by a large margin under the premise of reducing the types of items or keeping the types unchanged.

[0058] 4. Each storage unit is independent of each other, and can be suspended according to the actual situation, facilitating maintenance; the storage capacity of the item storage mechanism can be expanded, and the floor area will not increase while increasing the storage capacity. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0059] Figure 1 is a structural schematic diagram of the item storage and retrieval device according to Embodiment 1.

[0060] Figure 2 is a structural schematic diagram of one side of the item storage and retrieval device according to Embodiment 1.

[0061] Figure 3 is a structural schematic diagram of the storage unit according to Embodiment 1.

[0062] Figure 4 is a structural schematic diagram of the storage rotating unit according to Embodiment 1; for ease of understanding, the gaps of the storage rotating unit are indicated by dashed lines.

[0063] Figure 5 is a structural schematic diagram of the movement mechanism, the grabbing mechanism, and the image acquisition mechanism according to Embodiment 1.

[0064] Figure 6 is a structural schematic diagram of the storage unit according to Embodiment 3.

[0065] Figure 7 is a structural schematic diagram of the storage unit according to Embodiment 4. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0066] The present application will be further described in conjunction with the specific embodiments.

[0067] If there are terms such as "first", "second", etc., they are only used for descriptive purposes, mainly for distinguishing different devices, elements or components (the specific types and structures may be the same or different), and not for indicating or implying the relative importance and quantity of the indicated devices, elements or components, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying the relative importance.

[0068] Embodiment 1

[0069] As shown in FIG. 1-2, an article access device, comprising an article storage mechanism 100, a grabbing mechanism 200, a movement mechanism 300 for driving the grabbing mechanism 200 to move to the article storage mechanism 100, an image acquisition mechanism 400 for acquiring article image information, and a controller 500; the controller 500 is electrically connected or wirelessly connected with the grabbing mechanism 200, the movement mechanism 300, the image acquisition mechanism 400, and the article storage mechanism 100 respectively.

[0070] As shown in FIG. 3, the article storage mechanism 100 comprises a support 110, a plurality of storage units 120 distributed along up and down; each storage unit 120 comprises a support unit 121, a storage rotating unit 122, and a motor 123 for driving the storage rotating unit 122 to rotate; in this embodiment, the support unit 121 is a support plate, and the support unit 121 is detachably connected with the support 110.

[0071] The motor 123 is installed on the support unit 121. The storage rotating unit 122 is installed on the motor, and the motor is connected with the shaft center position of the storage rotating unit 122 to drive the storage rotating unit 122 to rotate around the shaft center. The storage rotating units 122 of each storage unit 120 are distributed along up and down, and the shaft center line directions of each storage rotating unit 122 are the same and on the same straight line.

[0072] As shown in FIG. 3 and 4, the plurality of storage rotating units 122 are provided with notches 1221, and in this embodiment, all the storage rotating units 122 are provided with notches 1221. The notches 1221 extend from the periphery of the storage rotating unit 122 to the inside, and the size of the notches 1221 can pass through when the grabbing mechanism 200 moves, which is convenient for grabbing the article on the adjacent one of the storage rotating units 122 corresponding to the notch 1221. The area of the notch 1221 can be further increased, and the size of the notch 1221 can pass through when the grabbing mechanism 200, the part of the movement mechanism 300 connected with the grabbing mechanism 200, and the article grabbed by the grabbing mechanism 200 move.

[0073] The storage rotating unit 122 is provided with a plurality of placing parts 1222 for placing articles; the placing parts 1222 are distributed on the periphery and / or the inside of the storage rotating unit 122. The inside of the storage rotating unit 122 refers to the part of the storage rotating unit 122 close to the shaft center line; on the contrary, the outside refers to the part of the storage rotating unit 122 away from the shaft center line.

[0074] The placing part 1222 is one or more of a shelf, an opening, and a groove provided on the storage rotating unit 122. In this embodiment, the storage rotating unit 122 is a turntable, the shape of the notch 1221 of the storage rotating unit 122 is a fan-shaped, and the placing part 1222 is an opening directly provided on the storage rotating unit 122.

[0075] As shown in FIG. 5, in the embodiment, the motion mechanism 300 is a two-axis robot arm. The two-axis robot arm is arranged beside the storage rotating unit 122. The two-axis robot arm provides two degrees of freedom of motion in the up-down and left-right directions. As shown in FIG. 1, the moving direction of the Z-axis moving assembly and the X or Y-axis moving assembly is defined by the three-dimensional spatial coordinate axes. Among them, the Z-axis direction refers to moving in the up-down direction, corresponding to the up-down distribution of the storage rotating unit 122, so that the grabbing mechanism 200 can move to the uppermost and lowermost storage rotating units 122. The X or Y-axis direction refers to moving in the lateral direction, so that the grabbing mechanism 200 can move to the inner side of the storage rotating unit 122.

[0076] As shown in FIG. 5, in the embodiment, the two-axis robot arm includes a Z-axis moving assembly 310, a Y-axis moving assembly 320 arranged on the Z-axis moving assembly 310, and the grabbing mechanism 200 arranged on the Y-axis moving assembly 320, so that the grabbing mechanism 200 can move to the storage rotating unit 122 in the Z-axis direction and the Y-axis direction.

[0077] The Z-axis moving assembly 310 includes a base 311, a Z-axis lead screw 312 arranged on the base, a Z-axis sliding seat 313 arranged on the Z-axis lead screw, and a Z-axis lead screw motor 314 for driving the Z-axis lead screw to move the Z-axis sliding seat. The base can be independently arranged or arranged on the support 110 of the article storage mechanism 100.

[0078] The Y-axis moving assembly 320 includes a Y-axis lead screw 321 arranged on the Z-axis sliding seat, a Y-axis sliding seat 322 arranged on the Y-axis lead screw, and a Y-axis lead screw motor 323 for driving the Y-axis lead screw to move the Y-axis sliding seat.

[0079] The grabbing mechanism 200 can be a mechanical gripper, an electric suction cup, or a combination of the two. In the embodiment, the grabbing mechanism 200 is an electric suction cup, and the suction and release actions are realized by electric control. The grabbing mechanism 200 is arranged on the Y-axis sliding seat 322.

[0080] The image acquisition mechanism 400 is a sensor or a camera for acquiring the appearance, two-dimensional code or bar code information of the article. In the embodiment, the image acquisition mechanism 400 is a camera, which is arranged opposite the article storage mechanism 100 for observing the situation of the article storage mechanism 100.

[0081] The camera can not only collect image information of the articles, but also observe the situation at the article storage mechanism 100, and is particularly used for monitoring the rotation of the storage rotating unit 122, for example, the position of the rotation. The camera is electrically or wirelessly connected with the controller 500. The camera is arranged on the Y-axis sliding seat and can move with the grabbing mechanism 200, and a single camera can cover the entire article storage mechanism 100, thereby reducing the number of cameras required and improving the success rate of grabbing. Through the image recognition algorithm and the database stored and run by the camera and the controller 500, the type of the article can be automatically identified and recorded in the database of the controller 500, thereby realizing intelligent inventory management and product type identification. The manual intervention is reduced, and the operation efficiency and management accuracy are improved. The article attribute information collected by the camera includes the shape and pattern color of the article. Further, the article attribute information collected by the camera can further include the name of the article, the name of the manufacturer, the size specification (capacity or weight).

[0082] The controller 500 is electrically or wirelessly connected with the grabbing mechanism 200, the motion mechanism 300, the image collection mechanism 400, and the article storage mechanism 100 to control the grabbing mechanism 200, the motion mechanism 300, the image collection mechanism 400, and the article storage mechanism 100 to work cooperatively. The controller 500 includes a central processing unit and a storage module. The central processing unit is connected with the storage module. The storage module stores a database program code for recording article information, an image recognition algorithm program code, and a control program code for controlling the actions of the grabbing mechanism 200, the motion mechanism 300, the image collection mechanism 400, and the article storage mechanism 100. The central processing unit can control the operation of the article access device by running the above program codes.

[0083] The controller 500 can control the notch 1221 of the storage rotating unit 122 to be aligned with the direction of the grabbing mechanism 200, and the camera can be assisted in positioning in combination with image recognition. Specifically, the camera feeds back the collected image information to the controller 500, and the controller 500 determines whether the notch 1221 is rotated to a preset position through an image recognition algorithm.

[0084] The working operation of the article access device of the embodiment is explained as follows:

[0085] Item storage: the information of the items is preset in the controller 500 or the controller 500 is connected to a cloud server recording the information of the items. When working for the first time, the identification information of the items to be stored, such as text, image feature information, and quantity information, is stored in the memory of the controller 500 or the cloud server. Then, if new types of items are to be stored, the new item identification information is supplemented to the controller 500 or the cloud server. When the items are stored in the placing part of the storage rotating unit 122, the controller 500 controls the movement mechanism 300 to move the camera to each layer of the storage rotating unit 122. The controller 500 controls the rotation of the storage rotating unit 122, and according to the image information fed back by the camera, the image recognition algorithm is used to identify each observed item according to the preset item information in the database and feed back the information to the controller 500. The controller 500 records or updates the information of the items stored in each layer of the storage rotating unit 122, such as the storage quantity of the items and the position information of the items. The position information of the items can be the storage rotating unit 122 (pre-numbered for the storage rotating unit) or the displacement value of the movement mechanism 300 (such as the displacement value of the Z-axis).

[0086] Item grabbing: when a certain type of item needs to be taken out, the controller 500 finds the storage rotating unit 122 where the target item is located according to the item information recorded in the database. The controller 500 controls the movement mechanism 300 to move the grabbing mechanism 200 to the storage rotating unit 122 where the target item is located. When more than one storage rotating unit 122 stores the target item, the storage rotating unit 122 closest to the grabbing mechanism 200 or the designated storage rotating unit 122 according to the preset priority can be selected. The controller 500 controls the rotation of the target storage rotating unit 122 and the movement of the grabbing mechanism 200. Specifically, the target storage rotating unit 122 is controlled to rotate the target item to face the direction where the grabbing mechanism 200 is located, and the storage rotating unit 122 adjacent to the target storage rotating unit 122 is also controlled to rotate, so that the gap 1221 of the adjacent storage rotating unit 122 faces the direction where the grabbing mechanism 200 is located, leaving a space for the movement of the grabbing mechanism 200. The controller 500 controls the movement mechanism 300 to move the grabbing mechanism 200 above the target item to grab the target item. After grabbing the target item, the controller 500 controls the grabbing mechanism 200 to move to a designated position and drop the target item.

[0087] Embodiment 2

[0088] Different from embodiment 1, the number of the storage rotating units 122 with the gap 1221 in the item storage and retrieval device of the embodiment is n-1, where n is the total number of the storage rotating units 122 possessed by the item storage and retrieval device.

[0089] When the article is placed on the upper surface of the storage rotating unit 122, and the grabbing mechanism 200 is to grab the article from above the storage rotating unit 122, the storage rotating unit 122 located at the lowermost layer (the first layer, counted from bottom to top) can not be provided with the notch 1221, and the storage rotating units 122 at the second layer and above are all provided with the notch 1221.

[0090] When the article is placed on the upper surface of the storage rotating unit 122, and the grabbing mechanism 200 is to grab the article from above the storage rotating unit 122, the storage rotating unit 122 located at the lowermost layer (the first layer, counted from bottom to top) can not be provided with the notch 1221, and the storage rotating units 122 at the second layer and above are all provided with the notch 1221.

[0091] The other structures and connection relationships of the article storage and retrieval device in the embodiment are the same as or similar to those in Embodiment 1.

[0092] Embodiment 3

[0093] As shown in FIG. 6, different from Embodiment 1, in the article storage and retrieval device in the embodiment, two adjacent storage units 120 are grouped into one group, one of the storage rotating units 122 in the same group is provided with the notch 1221, and the other storage rotating unit 122 is not provided with the notch 1221. From the overall storage rotating units 122, the storage rotating units 122 provided with the notch 1221 and the storage rotating units 122 not provided with the notch 1221 are staggered in turn; the storage rotating units 122 not provided with the notch 1221 and the adjacent group of storage rotating units 122 leave a space for the movement of the grabbing mechanism 200 and part of the movement mechanism 300.

[0094] The other structures and connection relationships of the article storage and retrieval device in the embodiment are the same as or similar to those in Embodiment 1.

[0095] Embodiment 4

[0096] As shown in FIG. 7, different from Embodiment 1, in order to better position the notch 1221, in the article storage and retrieval device in the embodiment, the storage unit 120 further comprises a rotating position sensing unit 124 for detecting the rotating position of the storage rotating unit 122, and the rotating position sensing unit is electrically connected or wirelessly connected with the controller 500. The rotating position sensing unit can detect the rotating position of the storage rotating unit 122, for example, detect the rotating position of the notch 1221, so as to more conveniently and accurately align the notch 1221 with the direction in which the grabbing mechanism 200 is located.

[0097] In the embodiment, the rotating position sensing unit 124 comprises a rotating position sensor 1241, at least one accessory 1242 adapted to the rotating position sensor; the rotating position sensor 1241 and the accessory 1242 can be in one of the following modes: electric induction, magnetic induction, optical induction, and mechanical induction. The rotating position sensor 1241 is electrically or wirelessly connected to the controller 500. The rotating position sensor 1241 is arranged on the bracket, and the accessory 1242 is arranged on the storage rotating unit 122. One of the accessories 1242 is used to feedback that the notch 1221 is aligned with the direction of the gripping mechanism 200; when the notch 1221 of the storage rotating unit 122 needs to be rotated to align with the direction of the gripping mechanism 200, the rotating position sensor 1241 senses the accessory 1242, and the rotating position sensor 1241 feeds back to the controller 500 to stop rotating the storage rotating unit 122.

[0098] The other structures and connection relationships of the article access device in the embodiment are the same as or similar to those in Embodiment 1.

[0099] Embodiment 5

[0100] Different from Embodiment 1, in the article access device in the embodiment, the article access device in the embodiment comprises a plurality of image acquisition mechanisms 400, at least one image acquisition mechanism 400 is arranged at each storage rotating unit 122 to identify articles and observe the situation of the storage rotating unit 122. The image acquisition mechanism 400 can be installed on the bracket 110 or the supporting unit 121.

[0101] The other structures and connection relationships of the article access device in the embodiment are the same as or similar to those in Embodiment 1.

[0102] Obviously, the above embodiments of the present application are only examples for clearly illustrating the present application, and are not intended to limit the implementation modes of the present application. Based on the above description, any other different forms of changes or variations can be made by those skilled in the art. Here, it is not necessary and impossible to exhaust all the implementation modes. Any modification, equivalent replacement, and improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present application should be included in the protection scope of the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. An article access device, characterized by, The application relates to an article storage mechanism, a grabbing mechanism, a motion mechanism for driving the grabbing mechanism to move to the article storage mechanism, an image acquisition mechanism for acquiring article image information, and a controller; the controller is electrically connected or wirelessly connected with the grabbing mechanism, the motion mechanism, the image acquisition mechanism, and the article storage mechanism respectively. The article storage mechanism comprises a support, a plurality of storage units distributed upwards and downwards; each storage unit comprises a support unit, a storage rotating unit, and a motor for driving the storage rotating unit to rotate; at least a part of the support unit is connected with the support to fix the support unit. The support unit is used for supporting the motor and / or the storage rotating unit; the storage rotating unit is provided with a plurality of placing parts for placing articles. The storage rotating units of the storage units are distributed upwards and downwards, and the axial lines of the storage rotating units are in the same direction; the storage rotating units are provided with notches which extend from the periphery of the storage rotating units to the inside, and the size of the notches can allow the grabbing mechanism, part of the motion mechanism connected with the grabbing mechanism, and the articles grabbed by the grabbing mechanism to pass through when moving.

2. The article access device of claim 1, wherein, The size of the notches can allow the grabbing mechanism, part of the motion mechanism connected with the grabbing mechanism, and the articles grabbed by the grabbing mechanism to pass through when moving.

3. The article access device of claim 1, wherein, All the storage rotating units are provided with the notches.

4. The article access device of claim 1, wherein, The image acquisition mechanism is installed on the grabbing mechanism or the motion mechanism.

5. The article access device of claim 1 or 4, wherein, The motion mechanism is a two-axis mechanical arm; the two-axis mechanical arm comprises a Z-axis moving assembly, an X-axis or Y-axis moving assembly arranged on the Z-axis moving assembly, and the grabbing mechanism is arranged on the X-axis or Y-axis moving assembly, so that the grabbing mechanism can move to the storage rotating unit along the Z-axis direction and the X-axis or Y-axis direction.

6. The article access device of claim 1 or 4, wherein, The image acquisition mechanism is a camera or a sensor.

7. The article access device of claim 1, wherein, The placing parts are distributed on the periphery and / or the inside of the storage rotating unit.

8. The article access device of claim 1 or 7, wherein, The placing parts are one or more of a placing rack, an opening, and a groove arranged on the storage rotating unit.

9. The article access device of claim 1, wherein, The motor is arranged on the support unit, the storage rotating unit is installed on the motor, and the motor is connected with the axial position of the storage rotating unit to drive the storage rotating unit to rotate.

10. The article access device of claim 1, wherein, The grabbing mechanism is a mechanical gripper, an electric suction cup, or a combination of the two.

11. The article access device of claim 1, wherein, The controller is connected with the grabbing mechanism, the motion mechanism, the image acquisition mechanism, and the article storage mechanism through a wireless communication mode.

12. The article access device of claim 1, wherein, The storage unit further comprises a rotating position sensing unit for detecting the rotating position of the storage rotating unit, and the rotating position sensing unit is electrically connected or wirelessly connected with the controller.

13. The article access device of claim 12, wherein, The rotating position sensing unit comprises a rotating position sensor and at least one accessory matched with the rotating position sensor; the rotating position sensor is electrically connected or wirelessly connected with the controller; the rotating position sensor is arranged on the support or the support unit, and the accessory is arranged on the storage rotating unit.

14. The article access device of claim 1, wherein, The axial lines of the storage rotating units are in the same direction and on the same line.

15. The article access device of claim 1, wherein, The storage rotating unit is a rotating disc.

16. The article access device of claim 15, wherein, The shape of the notch is a sector.

17. The article access device of claim 1, wherein, The support unit is a support plate.

18. A management method of storage of articles, characterized by, The article access device according to any one of claims 1-17, comprising the following steps: presetting information of the articles in the controller, or connecting the controller to a cloud server recording the article information; after the articles are stored in the storage rotating units, the controller controls the moving mechanism to drive the image acquisition mechanism to move to each of the storage rotating units in turn, the controller controls the storage rotating units to rotate, the image acquisition mechanism identifies each of the observed articles and feeds back information to the controller, and the controller records information of the articles stored in each of the storage rotating units.

19. A control method of an article gripping, characterized by, The article access device according to any one of claims 1-17, comprising the following steps: when it is necessary to find and take out an article of a certain type, the controller controls the moving mechanism to drive the image acquisition mechanism to move to each of the storage rotating units in turn, the controller controls the storage rotating units to rotate, the image acquisition mechanism identifies each of the observed articles, when the target article is found, the controller stops the storage rotating units from rotating, and controls the grabbing mechanism to move to grab the target article, after the target article is grabbed, the controller controls the grabbing mechanism to move to a designated position to drop the target article.

20. A control method of article access, characterized by, The article access device according to any one of claims 1-17, comprising the following steps: Article storage: presetting information of the articles in the controller; after the articles are stored in the storage rotating units, the controller controls the moving mechanism to drive the image acquisition mechanism to move to each of the storage rotating units, the controller controls the storage rotating units to rotate and the image acquisition mechanism to acquire image information, and according to the article information preset in the database, the image acquisition mechanism identifies each of the observed articles and feeds back information to the controller by using an image recognition algorithm, and the controller records or updates information of the articles stored in each of the storage rotating units; Article grabbing: when it is necessary to take out an article of a certain type, the controller reads the previously recorded information, if there is an article of the corresponding type, finds the storage rotating unit where the target article is located, and controls the moving mechanism to drive the grabbing mechanism to move to the storage rotating unit; when more than one storage rotating unit stores the target article, a storage rotating unit closest to the grabbing mechanism or a designated storage rotating unit according to a preset priority order can be selected; the controller controls the storage rotating units to rotate and the grabbing mechanism to move to grab the target article, after the target article is grabbed, the controller controls the grabbing mechanism to move to a designated position to drop the target article.

Images